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! i J- i ! 1 B PAGE SIX THE MONITOR, MAY 21. 1919 mmaa.......... t rw , .m at vwuww STATE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS COMMENDED Favorable Report by the Investi gating Committee Appointed by tb Vermont Legislature Schook Worthy of Continues! Interest aasl Patronage. Dorics tn raoaat aalos f ta VermcaU Uciin tn fliarastrs tuct f an ar U ol tna sua x li cultural letiiih UaTlii kMC mss an 1mu, a tat Jaiat olu was apaalnt ta Tiait tna aahsal. lOTMUgate aad rapart. It Badisx -were dt;rtlj favarasJe ta U schools. TU leikkurt accepted the report an TUecd it approval and in Ji i if by renwlag the appropriation ia ts same amounts and under the same conditions as for the previa tiro years. Bo claarly wert ta adTaatae pos sessed by tats schawl for iniiu-ur, agricultural ducatkB to tae youth of Vermont sat fsrth in this report taat it MifM a w rdms. a pecialiy y arats interested in such a deaartmaat of training. Ttte special oanzmlttee oaUtd of sub-coin irilttees representing the oam mittees on aaacaUoB and eucatini institutions of tne Bob ate and Hus,' to which was jalaad the preaideat f the legislate FWnver' Clsb. It vis ited the VaU schoel at Lyndanville, March 7, and tb Vermont State Ag ricultural aefcoal at Randolph, March 10. The coHunlttee alo secured such information as it deemed necessary from other sources. Prom its report, made to the governor and to the "members of the committees, represent ed, is take the following summary: The Theodore Kl. Vail Agricultural School and Farms at LvndonviHe- This school with outlying farms has an acreage of approximately 1800 .acre. About 700 acres are used for 'tillao. The balance of the property Is used for pasture and woodland, in cluding from 30 to Zo acres or a pine forestry plantation. On the property there are 12,000 sugar maples suit able for tapping. C.000 of which were tapped last year. The balance were 'not tapped owing to lack of equip ment. The State maintains the school on an annual appropriation of S22.500 and the farm is better than self-supporting. Buildings and Equipment. The buildings on Speedwell farm, which is the farm upon which the school is located, are of modern con struction and equipped with strictly up-to-date farm appliances. These buildings are in a remarkably good state of repair and have the appear apce of being well cared for. The buildings on the outlying; farms are the ordinary type of Vermont farm "buildings and so far as your com mittee was able to Judge from Its in spection, are in excellent condition and maintained in a good state of repair. They are not as pretentions as the buildings on Speedwell farm, but will compare very favorably with the farm buildings found on most of our up-to-date Vermont farms. Water System. Speedwell farm and the adjacent buildings and those other buildings not maintaining their own water sys tem are supplied with water from Chandler pond, which is located in the tor J of W'heelock and is included in the deed of gift from Theodore N. Vail and wife to the State. The water pressure is so arranged as to surply an excellent fire protection for the farm buildings and the dor mitory' at Speedwell farm. There Is ample hoae connection and the stu dents and farm laborers are drilled In the use of the hoe cart in case of a fire emergency. Eiectrtc Light Plant. The electric light plant, which is located on the Cahoon falls, Pasaump sic river, is thoroughly equipped and well maintained. This electric light plant supplies, electricity for Illu minating and power purpose to Speedwell farm, the Vail residence and Lyndon Institute and in the judg ment of your committee is a valua ble water right for the State to re tain. Live Stock aad Farm Equipment. Your committee found the live stock in excellent condition. Of the 222 cattle. taare are 129 milch cows of excellent dairy type. 1 ragistered Brown Swimi aud 1 registered Guern sey bull. Tb yeung stock are rery promising. The dairy a r-'isJf n ia every detail. saaat on cow ia Urn in the berd is thoroughbred aad the balance repreasaU a very high class stock. The 34 hones iaclaae one thoroughbred lauraaa stallloa and two Ferebereo -t-'1hma. Med fur breeding purpose. XI work unraa of the ben larcn typa. tLar4ts-d Percheroa maram. 1 regtotated Shim mare, 8 coil and 2 driving horse. The 82 vwlae are mnaflj PTi ti.r White ad the 11 C ahae are large and well eelected aad are bwisd by one regietred Shrooatfilre and oae registered Oxford ram. TV poultry ar Watte LgtMM-na. Barred Plymouth Recks aad White 'Vyan dottes. The White Leghorns, which predomimate in cumbers, are froaa the beet strain. Farm McWwfy and Tools. There is a complete Bat of agricul tural machinery and tools lndadl&g a TtordBon tractor, all in excaUest con dition. The repairs and painting pecuniary upon tfcJe aqlnmant are done alSMiat entirely by students of the scnovtl. Tne Daraattary. The dormitory was formerly a farm house and nas barn anlarged and al tered so as to make It aaitable far dormitory puraoaas. At preneat it will aocommoaaie anout CO boys, Tne toilet and haTstrg fndUUae are of the beet. The rooms are simply fnr nished. tmt well kept. The kitchen Is equipped with a cold storage plant and the dining hall and sitting rooms are attractive rooms. The food fur nished the pupils is mostly supplied Xrom Speedwell farm and is of ex ceedingly good quality. The Admlnirtratien na tding. In the summer of mi. the pony table at Speedwell farm was made over Into an administration building. omnrUing one large recitation room, a library that is al!o nsed for study and recitation purposes, 2 o faces and a recreation room, which is some times nsed for classroom purposea. Tbe expenses of these alterations were, defrayed from the proceeds of the farm and the alterations were made very largely by the students at the school. The baaasneat of this building is deignd for a creamery. In the rear of the administration building and cob a an tad with it, to a building originally dasagnad far a rid ing ring. The lower naor of this building makas aa ideal nasi tor stock judging, while tba upper floor can be finished off iato an aaaenanly hall and gymaainia that will anailjr accommodate Mv people. The Caicalam. The curriculum at the Tbaadore N. Vail Agricultural Scnaal and Farms covers twelve oenaacutive months and a bay wbaa be ha com pleted this period is given a di ploma. It is possible far a boy to enter at the beginning of any month and continue his course so loag as he can remain t the scaool. If for any reason a student is obliged to leave the school temporarily, he can re turn and complete his course at any time, provided that in so doing the twelve eoasecutive months are cov ered. In brief. the object of this course is that a bay at the The odore N. Vail Agricultural School and Farms fchall have the farm expe rience that is apt to arine in each month of the year and tae lnetmction applicable thereto. The coarse of study is organised about the activ :,ie8 that are important on tne farm at iny given time. For tl purpose the students are divided Into four groups. The studewts remain in each group for one week. One group is concerned for a woek primarily with instruction about the dairy. An jthar group is concerned for a week primarily with instructiop about farm crops. A third group is concerned with miscellaneous activities on the farm, fcucb. as the care of sheep, poul try and swine, orcharding, shop work, repair ol buildings, tools, etc. A fourth group works on the main farm under the direct supervision of the farm superintendent. This work is done for .wages and is designed to test the efficiency of the instruction received in the school. The main farm also furnishes opportunities for siut!ents to learn the slaughtering of animals, the care of sick animals, the training of colts and oxen, and other activities of like nature. At the be ginning of each week the groups change. Those who have been in group one take up the worn previ ously done by group two, and so on. No textbooks are required, but the library is well supplied with standard works on farming and whenever a problem is encountered in the farm work, the student is referred to a passage in some text book directly applicable to the problem at hand. The boys are also taught English, farm arithmetic and a simple form of civics designed to inculcate the principles of good citizenship. Tuition. Vermont boys attending this school are not charged any tuition. Boys from outside the State are charged a tuition of S60 a year. All boya are expected to furnish their own tow els, bed linen, blankets, etc.. to pay the expenses of laundering the same, and are charged $5 per week for board and lodging except for the week in which they work for wages. During the week in which the boys are working, they ieceive their board and lodging free of charge and are paid at the rate of from $30 to $40 a month, according to the nature of their employment and their abil ity. It is also possible on Saturdays of the other wwks for the boys to work at from fifteen to twenty cents an hour and throughout the twelve months of the school course all boys who so desire are able to work for compensation about the farm or in the dormitory during the hours in which they are not engaged in school work. It is safe to say that any boy who is willing to work will be able during the year to earn from three quarters to the entire amount of his expenses for the year's Instruction at this school. This policy was one of the conditions made by Mr. Vail in his deed of gift to the State of Ver mont and has been strongly empha sised by the teachers at the Theodore N. Vail Agricultural School and Farms and by the members of the State Board of Education ever since they took over the management of this school. Fteqaireatants far Admisaian. The requirements of admiaslon to tbns school are strictly in accord with the conditions set down in the deed of gift which statas: "The re quirement for admission ta such sefcool not to be so exacting as to exclude anyone who has a fair, sub stantial primary education and who shows in bis work and study, ta das try and application." Of the graduating class of 118. connlsftng of OTteen members, thirteen went back to farm work, one found ecsploymant In man ufacture of farm impaameritB and one enlisted la the army. The State &chaaJ af Agrtoasture at RanaolBB Cawaar. This aexiooi haa an acreage af aj pevwimataiy 1T2 acre. It xaa be divided as follows : Pasture and su gar orcbard. CI acres : aaatnra and woodland. 2 acres: and Tills 10a land. tS acres. The sell at the school at Randolph hi of a qaality peealinrly adapted to farm crops and of the 84 aerea of calttvmXed land. 40 acres are used for tae raiatng of hay. la the sugar orchard there are about 700 acres taat are auitanie for tanpaog. Last year over fcM were tapped and rn creased eajwtamant will permit a largar nsmber to be tapped this year. Your eommltlM lis visits it, aabaol building wnirxi was formerly tne old Ks&sofnh Normal school and is leased by tba State of Vermont from tne trustees of the Orange County Grammar school. This build ing Is tn excellent condition, con tains oSoe arrMmmodaflaw. six reci tation rooms and laboratories and an assembly room. In the basement there Is a soil room and the farm machinery repair shop. Tour committee then visited the shop, where a number of the stu dents ware dismantling an old farm wagon under tne Buperrtaidri of one of the instructors. In connection with this building there is also a lumber and stock room. Excellent Farm Barn, Etc Ths cow and horse barn la an ex cellent building, well kept and fitted with modern farm appliances. The piggery, including slaughter house and feed roam, is a new building, built from Us nrecaeda of the farm, and was largely erected by the stu dents aad tea instnictara. It is in food carditis and well kept. The dairy building is also a new building, built tram the pracead af Us farm, and was alas toJ-galy rat ed by tas at ad eats and tan rasters. Bath Uaae buildings wars sajilt dur ing the summer and aatnmn sf Itlt. Tbe dairy is equipped with nU tie maaera dairy apsltancas. Tba baa basse to af snQoaant atee to car far ftve ftaoks af hams af smty birds aaaa and ta in a gaod state af repair. Yeur ceittiae asse is iiirsil tne tool shed aad tanad that Us farm was equip pad wtU adeqnat tnrzn machinery and taata. The manure shed was ballt mmt mt the proceeds of the farm and by Ua school instmewrs and is a valuable asset to U noneal. New Madam Dermis ry. The darsaUary building -ha been built reseatly from a spaasal Saate appropriation and would be a eradlt to any adncaiisnsl institutian. Tne constructlan is medern, U talVats and bathing tacilitias all tnat eaald be daslred. The reams are dean and well taat and atsaaly bat attraat lvely furs tubs. Ths dining ream is attractive and cam mod leu nod ths kitchen wall kept, the quality of food Is excellent. One portion of th dor mitory Is given over to a recreation room and library of ample size. The dormitory can now accommodate 64 students. The water supply of the school is furnished from springs owned by the State and forced by a ram to n cov ered reservoir from which It flows to the buildings by gravity. The electricity is obtained from the Hortonia Power company. Live Stock. The stock consists of a herd of S5 head of cattle. 22 of which are pure bred registered Jerseys, one pure bred registered Ayrshire and the rest grade Jerseys. The bull is a pure-bred registered Jersey. There are seven teen milch cows in the herd. There are five horses of the farm work horse type. The S5 head of swine are of the Ohio Improved Chester breed. The poultry consists of 71 hens in five flocks and the breeds are White Leghorns, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Buff Orpingtona, Rhode Island Reds and White Wyandottee. All the live stock is in good condition and shows the result of careful care and attention. The Curriculum. The curriculum at the Vermont State Agricultural school at Randolph Center covers two school years of nine months each. There is a spe cial course of one year maintained for graduates of approved high schools. Under normal conditions the school year opens in the middle of September and closes on the 1st of June. The course is divided so that about one-half of the student's time shall be devoted to the prac tical work and problems of farming and the other half to the study of theoretical courses closely applied to these problems, such as physics, chemistry, biology, rural sociology and ethics... English, farm arithme tic and a short course in history are also taught. Your committee does not wish to have it understood that the school at Randolph is in any Bense' a theoreti cal school of agriculture, on the contrary it is emphatically a practi cal school and the practical and the oretical courses are used to supple ment each other. Tuition. Vermont boys attending this school are not charged any tuition. Boys from outside the State are charged a tuition of 140 a year. All boys are expected to furnish their own towels, bed linen, blankets, etc, and to pay for laundering the same and are charged $6 per week for board and lodging. Their expenses for textbooks and reference books run from $20 to $30 a year and every boy is expected to remain at the Randolph school for the nine consecutive months that make up the school year. The: school encourages every boy to take up some farm project during the summer vacation and if possible sosae member of the faculty visits his farm during the vac. Mop for the pur pane of Inspecting and supervis ing his werk. Opportunities are given to the stu dents to do autside work for compen sation in ths even In ga and on Satur day, while In attendance at the i school. There is also an opportunity for a bay to earn aametbing by work ing in the darsaUary. Out of last year's gradnatrng class of 22 Bind ants at least M per cent, returned to work upon Vermont farms. Summary. Toar eosssuxttee has gone Into coo siaVeEasle detail in inspecthag and de scribing the buildings, stock and methods of lnstructian at the Tfce adere K. Vail Agricultural School and Farina and the Vermont State Agricul tural school at Randolph Center. We have done Uis in order to place be fore your Eeeilancy and the mem bers of the Joint committee, the con ditions as we have found them at tbaae schools. While riaiting the schools your committee had ample opportunity to observe the students at their work in the bams, shop and classrooms. We conversed freely with the rtueVats of both institutions as well as with the instructors and wa cannot spank too highly of the enthusiastic feeling of cooperation that exists between the nvanbers of the faculty and tne student body at both institutions and their loyalty to ward their rasnecUve schools. Some criticism Las been made that the Theodore N. Vail Agricultural School and Farms and the Vermont State School of Agriculture are maintaining parallel courses and for that reason one or the other should be diacontlnnad, Tour committee af ter examining Into the iwal methods of both Institutions found that certain Important difference ex ist between ths school t at the Tha odor N. Vail - c Lynaonviue sou , r-nter Agriculture at Randolph Center Some of these differences are due to the condition surroun-lng the two school. Others represent dif of ths Thaadar N Vsal Aicu;tura School daftaitaly fixe the tJ5 reulraavaais at that InstituUon. Tb lmsartant sii-r- concerning ln, aaTTasZeTat Uis school is not thai adsZtl what asnartnaJty there U for the T , .T?r-L.w ta aim. There r m. m VS - as uinirancnsi - - upan at en; ar sxaarismo. ths etnar nana, " pttii rather definite and to Insist ta. a si ia.1 t ot gram rjntl as a minimum casaaaaary far that scnsoi 10 re ceiv a uusiiiri nanuer u, gradaatas frost Krav lgh achoo' Th wark saust. Uerassr. be suited to U ability of the more aC vanaad atasatats. A aaaaad dlaareaee i instteated in the poasiaillty of aeif-snpport a' these sskoai. At Ue Theodore N Vafl school it is aoaslbie for any Ver ment boy U ears all sf bis expenses For this parpose U cbl is organ ized In th aam maanar as the part tims baste 1b tb ! atria. On week In fear tb by work for wager on th tara ud ia aadltiea has tn opportunity io wrk far wages a times wham b is not receiving in struotien. At ths WM School Of Agriculture at Bnndolsh, on the tar hand, th Stab Board of Sdaaatiso eanno: p ramie to prospective students the opportunity to aam any large pari of their expenses. This is due t the else of the farm and th lack c' labor needs. Cven though boys ar able to secure work on adjacen farms there is no advantage that comes from such service oUer that, the financial one because the boy cannot be under direct supervision. A third difference is found in tin type of instruction. Both school aim at preparation . for Vermon; farming. The course of study at th; State School of Agriculture at Ran dolph Center requires at least one half of the boyB time for practica work. The other half is devoted tc a systematic study of science and kindred subjects related to agri culture. At the Theodore N. Vail School of Agriculture the entire course is de voted to farming. The sciences and mathematics are treated when the occasion arises in connection with actual farm practice. In other words, at Randolph text books are a necessity. At the Vail school at Lyndon ville, they axe a last resort. The Theodore N. Vail Agricultural School has not undertaken to deal with specialties In agriculture. Near ly all the boys who enter this institution--come with the definite intention of returning to general farming. . At the State Agricultural School at Randolph there has been some de gree of specialization. Boys havt been trained to become cow testers and farm . managers and . at present the school has undertaken to train some young men to oecome cream ery managers. Doubtless the greatest evidence that these are not competing institu tions is to be found in the fact that neither is a local institution. There are in attendance at each Institution boys from various sections of the State and it is often possible to find students from the same town in at tendance at both of the schools. Recommendations. Bearing in mind the great Impor tance of agriculture in the State and the necessity for agricultural train ing and also in view of the fact that the State has very large and very valuable property interests and a large amount of capital already in vested in these two agricultural schools, your committee respectfully make the following recommenda tions: That the Theodore N. Vail Agri cultural School and Farms at I,Tntnn ville and the Vermont State ifn. cultural School at Randolph Center De retained as State Schools of Ag riculture on the basis of thnlr spectiv apa rojjriaU cms and that the cominuaa maintenance of these Bcnaoia shall be made a settled state policy. That the direct management of the Theodore N. Vail Agricultural ocnooi ana J-"arms at LyndonvOle and the VtrBVOl RULlA Ryhnrtl nf A 1 culture at Randolph Center be Teste' m iae aiaie uuard or Education and that said Board 1m stitu a system of bookkeeping and vuaung mat snail be in harmony With th dead of rift an fp . k Theodoe X Vafl Agricultural School sou rnrms is ooncemed and also in accord with the business and educa tional peltries of both Institnilon TSim Beaae Board of Education U urgaa so proceed upon a systematic policy af pabikxty In connection wit the Thaodnra M V!l Aii School and Farms at LyndonvtUe and the Varcntvil stain Arrimitnr.1 o-i at Randolph. Center, whereby the edu- aviwuuuues and aims of the sobooto shall be mads familiar to uxw ciuwu of the State of Vermont. Resptfully submitted. H. R KING SEE Y, Chairman. II- L, BAX-LOU. r. a JACKSON. W. S. AUSTIN af R(- J. H. BLOOD. J- B. KSTEE. 8- C CAB-PESVTEB,. H- G. LCCE. Sub-Committee 'Vnrea m detail submitted by the committee show that the Vail School l "ed a profit last yea, of X8JU.2J9 and increased th livestock inventory from I IS. 4 78.40 to JZ4.C7S xSLso?1 t?r' urried ' xapoo 71 whan the state took It ir iflfc. now stands at $24.t2g. The Randolph school farm made a Pnt last year -of $3.3H, was aheorbad in the Increase of in ventory amounting to -.l7. jQ. t"Z building constructed Tba tsventary U now IZZjUtX. claaiva f oof-axttory 2S!n?. fl th witn every count A meeting of the subscribers of the PuVranty fund of the Green Moun tain Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Inc. occurred in Montpeher following officers were elected . . Pres., H. J. M. Jones, Montpeher ; first V ice Pres G. L. 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